Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana (38 page)

She sighed, knowing this was not to be. She jutted out her chin and squared her shoulders. “Hello, Isaac.” As hard as it was to keep her legs from running to him, she shuffled her feet and smiled warmly. “Welcome back.”

Isaac winked at her, and a chill sent goosebumps to her arms. “Pitch me a fast one.”

She stood up tall, holding the ball to her chest. “You sure you’re ready?”

Isaac’s face brightened with a smile, making the lines in his cheeks form long creases. “Oh yeah.” He brushed his boot against the dirt. “Go ahead.”

Julia lifted her chin. “I should warn you. I’ve pitched ball in the streets of New York City since I was eight.”

Isaac’s brow wrinkled. “You think I’m afraid?”

In place of an answer, Julia hurled the ball as hard as she could. Isaac swung but missed, the thrust of his swing making him stumble and lose the bat. The team lacked a catcher, so the ball sailed into the field behind him.

The children chortled as Isaac regained his stance. And Julia treasured the humble way he laughed along with them. “Y’all like to see your parson make a right fool of himself, don’t you?”

Joshua abandoned first base and scurried to Isaac. “You almost fell right down on your rump, Uncle Ike.” He poked Isaac in his mid-section.

Isaac stumbled then purposely plopped down in the dirt.

Joshua held his tummy and giggled.

“You’ve got a mighty powerful finger there. Let me see it.”

Joshua showed him his finger, which Isaac perused with awe.

“You be careful with that thing. You’ll be knocking folks down all over the country.”

Joshua’s eyes opened wide. “Aw, Uncle Ike.”

Isaac stood and brushed off the dust. “All right. You young ones better fetch the ball.” He spoke with his gaze fixed on Julia, his mouth holding an awkward smile.

A handful of the players scampered past him, but Isaac paced toward Julia.

“That’s one fast pitch.” He reached her and stopped, his eyes locking with hers.

Julia’s heart pounded as he drew closer. She brushed her hair from her eyes. “I warned you.” She folded her arms.

“You did.”

A quiet moment passed between them, and Isaac’s gaze held Julia’s. She wanted to ask him what he was doing. Why he was paying attention to her. But the children circled around them, their voices rising like a cawing of a dozen crows.

“Is it my turn to bat?”

“No. You already had a turn.”

“Miss Cavanaugh, can you show me how you threw that so fast?”

“I think the parson needs to try again. It’s three strikes before you’re out.”

“C’mon, Miss Cavanaugh.” Christopher grabbed the bat as he twitched his hair back. “I’ll hit it all the way to the lake.”

Johannah ran up from behind the others, ball in hand, and tossed it to Julia.

Isaac gently removed it from her hand. “Shelby?” He stepped toward the girl. “You know how to pitch? I have something I need to show Miss Cavanaugh.”

Shelby snickered and walked to the mound. Taking the ball from Julia, she gave her a knowing smile.

Unable to contain herself, Julia stuck out her tongue. Then she held in a chuckle as she noticed Isaac’s eyes on her. Her face warmed at his laughter.

“You ready?” Isaac offered his arm, and his eyes softened. “If you don’t mind.” His voice suddenly sounded thick, earnest.

Julia looked into his face, searching for meaning. She longed to know his thoughts, his feelings. Hers were so strong, she was sure they were plain on her face. He must be able to notice her awkward movements and quick breaths.

She cautiously looped her hand around his muscular arm, and she felt his body relax. He escorted her toward the house.

“Isaac.” She slanted her head toward him as they walked. “What is this about?”

Isaac kept his eyes focused in front of him, but Julia saw the corner of his mouth tweak upward. “You’ll see.”

They approached the house, where several food tables were set up out back as they’d been on the night of Isaac’s birthday party. The firepit was lit, and the smoky scent of roasting buffalo meat made Julia’s stomach stir in hunger.

A group of people lingered around the tables, talking as they nibbled, and above the clamor Julia heard her name.

“Miss Cav’naw!” Bea’s voice hailed.

Julia’s eyes searched low for a toddler scrambling toward her, but she didn’t find the gold-haired bundle of joy.

Isaac raised Julia’s chin with his thumb, and his touch sent a gush of warmth through her. Glancing ahead, she spied Bea—her arms stretched out and a big smile on her face—in the arms of Mrs. Gaffin.

Julia’s heart danced at the sight of the one person who knew her better than any other.

“My dear girl!” Mrs. Gaffin wrapped her thick arms around Julia, squishing the little girl between them. Bea wiggled down and clasped Isaac’s leg. Julia felt her body relax as she breathed in Mrs. Gaffin’s familiar scent of rosewater, and she relished the comfort of her headmistress’s embrace.

Julia stepped back and gazed at the woman, taking in the sight of her cheery eyes, her plump cheeks, her wayward brown hair.

“My dear, sweet Julia.” Mrs. Gaffin dabbed tears from her eyes. “It’s so good to see you. How I’ve missed you. And my sweet girl, I’m so sorry for putting you in such a predicament. What was I thinking?”

Julia patted the woman’s shoulder, knowing she always meant well. “What are you doing here?”

Mr. Gaffin tweaked his mustache. “My dear wife has the most outrageous ideas, you see,” he interjected. “Well, you tell her, my dear.”

Julia watched Isaac scoop Bea into his arms. He raked his fingers through her curls as he stood next to Julia.

Mrs. Gaffin’s excited laugh exploded from her lips, and a surge of joy spread through Julia at the remembrance of that happy sound. But it was quickly followed by a blow of anxiety. “Mrs. Gaffin.” Julia lowered her head. “What do you have planned?”

Mrs. Gaffin touched Julia’s face. “You’re worried, dear, aren’t you?” She glanced at Isaac. “No need. I told you in the letter about your new work opportunity? Well, I was thinking that before you came back, you, Mr. Gaffin, and I could go on an adventure out West. I’ve heard the parks out here are breathtaking. All my friends have already seen Yellowstone.” She slipped a gaze at Julia. “But none have gone so far as Puget Sound.” She grabbed Mr. Gaffin’s arm and yanked him toward her. “So you see, my dear, if you want to come with us, you are welcome.” Julia’s headmistress glanced at Isaac again, and this time she added a wink.

Julia eyed her suspiciously.
Why the attention to Isaac?

As the sounds of the community she loved echoed in her ears, Julia gazed at Mrs. Gaffin. A month ago she’d have jumped at the chance to be invited on such a trip, but as much as she loved Mrs. Gaffin, everything had changed in the last month. She’d changed.

Julia gripped Mrs. Gaffin’s hands in hers, her heart heavy to have to disappoint the woman she so adored. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Gaffin. You know I love you very much, and I truly appreciate your coming all this way, but I can’t go with you, not on your adventure—or back to New York.” She glanced at Bea in Isaac’s arms. “This is my home now.”

To Julia’s surprise, Mrs. Gaffin laughed and threw her arms around Isaac in a tight embrace. “Congratulations, my boy!” She took Bea back into her arms.

Then Mr. Gaffin shook his hand. “Very well, my good man.”

Julia’s mind tangled in confusion. “What’s going on?” She grabbed Mrs. Gaffin’s arm. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Mrs. Gaffin patted Julia’s hand. “Don’t ask
me
, sweetie.” She dipped her head toward Isaac.

Julia glanced at him. Isaac’s face glowed with an endearing smile as he slowly stepped toward her. The Gaffins and everyone else seemed to disappear into a haze as his gaze intertwined with hers. Julia’s chest throbbed as her heart hammered its speeding beat.

“Julia, I—well, I have so much to say to you.” Isaac took in a breath. His gaze left hers momentarily as he skimmed over the prairie, landing down by the lake. “Will you go on a walk with me?”

Joyful expectation brimmed in Julia’s heart, but she tried to push it away. This man, this incredible man—he couldn’t be planning to say the words she longed to hear. Words of affection, admiration, love. But if those feelings did brew in him…

A thrill of hope rushed over her like the prairie wind. She slowly studied his eyes and then nodded. “Yes, I’ll go on a walk with you.”

And for the second time that day, Julia accepted the arm he offered to her.

The warmth of Julia’s hand on Isaac’s arm was like a deposit of hope. Hope that he’d escort her to many picnics, country fairs, hoedowns, and weddings throughout the span of years he prayed they would share together. His heartbeat paced expectantly as he reveled in her strong yet feminine frame ambling beside him, her wavy, sun-dappled hair twisted in a bun, her brown eyes holding questions he longed to answer.

“You look beautiful today.” He gazed at her as they passed alongside the baseball field and headed down toward the lake. Isaac spotted a hint of pink flush Julia’s cheeks.

“Thank you.” Her eyebrows scrunched in perplexed lines, but her lips formed a smile.

He glanced toward the rodeo arena set up for the day, where a crowd was gathering for the greased swine competition.

“Are you going to try that?” Julia asked.

Isaac enjoyed her mischievous grin. “Maybe. I won last year, you know.”

Julia twisted her head, her eyes narrowed in rebuke. “You’re not fooling me again. I don’t believe you for a minute.”

Isaac grinned. “You got me. I did try it once, though, over in St. Louis when I was about ten years old.”

Julia chuckled. “I can just imagine. Did the pig survive?”

“Well, yeah, he survived my attempt at him, at least. The question is, how did
I
survive.”

They reached the lake, and the band’s music grew louder. Isaac raised his voice as he led her toward the west side, where a wood-planked white bridge had been set up as a station to award prizes at the end of the day.

“Well?” Julia prodded.

“It took me a good five minutes to even get my hands on the slimy rascal, and when I finally did, I somehow found a spot without much grease. I held on, and that old girl yanked me at least twenty feet across the dirt. Thing is, I’d just gotten some hand-medown trousers from my cousin Tim, and they were a bit too big around my girth.”

Julia touched her hand to her lips and smiled sympathetically. “Oh, no.”

Isaac nodded. “Oh yeah. By the time that sow got done yanking me, my new trousers had traveled ’bout down to my ankles.”

A laugh burst from Julia’s mouth.

Isaac mocked a hurt look. “It was terribly embarrassing for a young boy.”

Julia shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

They reached the little bridge, and Isaac led her up the white planks. The sun smiled down, and a gentle breeze waltzed about the lake’s waters. His hands gripping the railing, bedecked with red, white, and blue ribbons, he gazed out over the mass of people—most whose homes he’d helped raise, whose weddings he’d performed, or whom he’d prayed with after a tragedy.

Julia stood next to him, and Isaac remembered the last time they’d walked along the lake. The moon’s, not the sun’s, rays had lit their path, and a night overwrought with fear led to her collapsing into his eager arms. He’d longed to hold her, protect her all his days. How that moment of closeness had affected him, changed the course of his life.

He rotated to face her, and the sight of her eyes peering up at him made his knees feel feeble.

The corner of her lip turned in a grin. “Well, Parson, are you going to keep telling me embarrassing stories from your youth, or will you explain what this is all about? What on earth were Mr. and Mrs. Gaffin talking about?”

Isaac suddenly didn’t know where to start. Should he explain about the vow? The peace he’d made with God? His plans to start a church and stop riding the circuit? The school?

His gaze moved over her face, and he paused, stilled by the beauty that flowed from her remarkable heart and shone through the features he cherished—her bright eyes, smooth skin, slender waist, tender hands.

“You are so beautiful.” The words breathed out in a whisper, almost before he realized they’d left his mind and moved to his tongue. He longed to touch her, to grasp her hand, to caress her cheek, but he knew he must wait to discover if she returned his feelings. His stomach churned with anxiety. “I just…” A thick gravel seemed to bury the words in his throat. “I want to—
need
to—tell you something.”

A hint of fear, like waves in a brewing storm, spread in Julia’s eyes—perhaps fear of being hurt or else simple uncertainty—and Isaac longed to still her worries, to calm the waves.

The lively band music slowed to a waltz, and Isaac paused, reaching for calmness from the slow tune. A draft of wind shifted a strand of hair to Julia’s forehead, and Isaac tucked it behind her ear. The music came to an end, and all seemed to suspend in motionless silence. Isaac’s horse Virginia whinnied, as if asking for an encore, and then dipped her head again to drink from the lake.